Few of us have much spare time and this book is to help the reader understand what needs doing when. And what does not need doing: I explain all the unnecessary jobs you can leave out doing.
It's a perennial diary with no days of the week, so good to use for several years. In fact it's more of a journal, because three quarters of the pages are writing and photographs, a mine of information.
Advice in the diary section is linked to each week of the season and takes you through the whole process, from clearing weeds, feeding soil and sowing to
harvests and storing vegetables.
• Advice on sowing and planting methods, plus raising plants at home
• Best sowing dates – seeds neither fail in cold nor start too late
• Advantages of no dig, saving time, giving fewer weeds and bigger crops
• How to maintain control of weeds through timely mulching and hoeing
• How to feed soil just once a year, for strong and healthy growth
• When and how to make all the harvests, with advice on storing produce too.
Genre: GARDENING / VegetablesAround 7000 sold so far in the UK and 1500 shipped to the USA.
1600 shipped to Amazon and sold in year one.
I sell them off my website too.
No dig advantages
Most soil already has a good structure for plant roots to grow, and is full of growth-promoting organisms which do not work so well after being disturbed. Millions of fungal threads, earthworms and toads, to name a few, are being helpful right under our feet. Soil is a living universe, ready to grow great plants when we help and encourage it.
Benefits of no dig
moisture is retained and is available to considerable depth, because there is no ‘shatter zone’ caused by cultivations
mycorrhizal fungi stay intact, then help plant roots to find more nutrients and extract more moisture, because they are smaller than roots and can reach into tiny crevices
you have access in wet weather because drainage is good: the soil’s structure has not been broken by tools or machinery, water runs away and you can garden when you need to
fewer weeds germinate, because their seeds are not exposed to light during cultivation, and because organic matter on the surface (instead of dug in) is a weed suppressing mulch
soil is warmer in winter because deep-level warmth rises up, unhindered by structural damage from cultivations: my gardens have always been admired for their early harvests
you can quickly resow or replant at any time of year, with no soil preparation needed, after you clear a preceding crop of any surface debris, leaving its roots in the soil.
| Language | Status |
|---|---|
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German
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Already translated.
Translated by Sabine Wanner
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Anabela Sousa
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Spanish
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Manuel Sánchez
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